In June 2017, Telepod launched a Kickstarter campaign to scale its project nationwide
Singapore-based e-scooter-sharing startup Telepod today announced that it has closed an undisclosed funding round led by MomentUM, a corporate venture and incubation platform of SMRT Corporation.
Bravio Capital, Quest Ventures, and two undisclosed angel investors also participated in the funding round.
“The first-and-last mile mobility market is a large and rapidly evolving market … This investment also complements SMRT’s public transport network, providing our commuters with more mobility options,” said MomentUM Head of Investments Dickson Loo in a press statement.
Telepod implements a business model similar to many dockless bike-sharing platform where users download a mobile app, pay deposit, locate an e-scooter, then pay the fee based on the length of the journey.
Its patent-pending system PROXIMA uses QR codes and helps ensure users are parking the scooters at designated parking areas.
Also Read: Indonesian bike-sharing startup Banopolis tests service at University of Indonesia campus
The company said that the funding round will equip it with the logistical assets and technology to support its island-wide expansion plan this year.
Telepod Chief Executive Gan Jin Ni also said that the funding will be used to launch the company’s next generation of e-scooters.
The new e-scooters will be designed to “significantly” increase the scooter up-time and life-span, eventually reducing maintenance and operations work.
Debuting its e-scooter-sharing service at Suntec City in June 2017, Telepod claimed to have served more than 75,000 trips across Nanyang Technological University, the One-North district, and the Central Business District.
In the same month, it had also launched a Kickstarter campaign to scale its project nationwide.
Of the targetted S$5,000 (US$3,800) goal, the project managed to secure S$430 (US$328).
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Image Credit: Telepod
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